First Week of School - SUPERB START-UP!

Dear Families,

Despite it being a shortened school week, we had yet another productive week of learning.  We spent quality time thinking about, reflecting, and honouring our planet.  

Many students told me that they've already shared some of our discussions with you at home and you were very intrigued as we learned about a very important crisis CLIMATE CHANGE.  As a result of this, we've learned that our Earth needs us to make wiser choices now more than ever.  I will dive deeper into this topic below. 

Below, we are dressed in GREEN (represents the land) and BLUE (represents the oceans, lakes, rivers, ponds) to show our dedication to our planet to help it get greener and cleaner!! 

Thank you boys and girls for not only showing school spirit, but more importantly, demonstrating your commitment to being an activist for protecting and preserving the planet!

Earth Week Activities:
This week, our class dedicated our energies to do a deep dive into expanding our knowledge and understanding about our Earth and completing initiatives to help preserve and protect it.  It was remarkable for me to see how much everyone is concerned and cares for our planet!  

One of the first initiatives we took was to create our very own Planet Pledge which came home in the agenda.  My hope is that you had a chance to read and admire it as a family.  Our class shared this Pledge with the whole school over the announcements.  We want to help make a difference not solely for our class family, but for the SCHOOL FAMILY!

I have shared many times with my class, and I trust you believe in this too that we must honour and celebrate Earth Day every day! 

The time is NOW my friends to bring about positive change.  It is up to us to make a significant difference not just for our generation, but for generations to come!

We must always make an effort to be mindful of reducing, reusing, and recycling when ever we can.  We have one planet, it is up to us to help it!  There is NO PLANET B!!

Ally:

Thank you Ally for taking the time to create this magnificent poster and sharing your wonderful message with me.  I agree with you!!  The higher power and humankind has the whole world in its hands.  We must be gentle and gracious for its beauty it provides us each and every day :)  

We truly are blessed to live, work, and play in such a gorgeous community (Collingwood/Nottawa area).  It is up to us to keep it this way :)

Community Clean Up:

Another significant initiative we took this week was going outside and doing a community clean up.  As Greta has taught us, "no one is too small to make a difference!"  

That's certainly been our mentality :-)  We were very eager to do our part demonstrating our care and compassion for the environment and nature. 

As you'll soon see below, we enjoyed this process and are always ready to lend a helping hand! 

In the end of our cleanup, I had the kids show me how much garbage they collected and it was 10 grocery bags full which added up to 1 large garbage bag just from our community.  WOW!!  

Thank you boys and girls for your efforts and demonstrating true character!  Thumbs up to making a difference, YAY!

Climate Change:

Who is Greta Thunberg? What is climate change? Please ask your child about this prior to reading on. We did a thorough discussion about this and I believe you'll be quite impressed with their new found knowledge and understanding :)

Thank you to Ainsley (above) who was gifted a very meaningful book by her parents called "Greta and the Giants." This story is inspired by Greta Thunberg a 19 year old environmental activist who is known for challenging world leaders to take immediate action for climate change.

We read this book aloud in class, but I have also posted an online version for you below so you too can listen and learn about the dire need to help our planet.

"The story you've just heard has a happy ending. But in the real world, Greta is still fighting the "giants." They might not be as easy to see as they are in this book, but they are there. Some of the giants don't want to change their ways. That's why Greta needs OUR HELP."

"There is a natural solution to the climate breakdown: Protecting forests. Climate activist Greta Thunberg and writer and climate activist George Monbiot explain." Please watch this inspiring video below and discuss its importance as a family :)

Greta's care and concern for climate change is powerful. She is here to unite humanity to make a difference before it's too late. "Climate change means the world is getting hotter and hotter and this is causing a lot of damage."

Scientists all agree that this rising temperature is down to human activity. When we burn coal, oil, and gas (called "fossil fuels"), something called carbon dioxide is released into the air and this makes the world warm up. The polar ice is melting and sea levels are rising. Forests are being chopped down and animals are left homeless :(

"Did you know the Earth is already 1 degree Celsius hotter than it used to be? This has caused worse wildfires, storms, droughts, and floods, and more than 1 million people living near the coast have been forced to leave their homes."

"If we carry on as we are, things will only get worse. Climate change is the biggest crisis humans have ever faced."

"Greta knew all of this and she couldn't understand why no one was doing anything about it. So, when she was 15, she went on strike from school, sitting outside the Swedish government building and holding a sign that said, "Strike for climate!"

"Over time, people stopped to join her and now, her protest has encouraged children and adults from all over the world to stand up for climate change too. Greta has spoken to politicians from many different countries, and in 2019 she was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize."

Let us all be like Greta and take immediate action before it's too late!

"NO ONE IS TOO SMALL TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE!" - Greta Thunberg

Here are some things YOU CAN do to help Greta:

• learn everything you can about climate change.  Tell your friends and family all about what we have learned in class

• ask your parents or guardians to take you on a climate protest so you can stand up to "giants."  Write a letter to or visit your elected officials to ask them to stop climate change

• walk, run, cycle, or take the bus or train instead of getting in the car or taking a plane.  This means LESS FOSSIL FUELS are burned

• try to get your family to eat less meat.  Ask your parents or guardian to buy food made nearby instead of from a far-away country

• look after the things you have.  Mend them when they are broken instead of buying new things.  Share them with your friends when you've finished with them

"You might think that it won't make a difference, but if we all work together, WE CAN CHANGE THE WORLD!"

Finley, Emily & Kinley:

From all of our discussions about climate change, protecting and preserving planet, Finley, Emily, and Kinley signed out books from the library which specifically touched upon these topics.  

Thank you for going out of your way to provide books which will help continue deepening our understanding.  We will keep these in our classroom and read parts of it throughout the remainder of the school year so we do not lose sight of ways we can help put an end to climate change.  

Language:

Our focus in reading and writing has been on Earth Week activities.  Your child lovingly completed a collection of meaningful tasks which promotes taking action to help preserve and protect our planet!!

If you haven't already, please take some time to sit with your child and read over their various responses.  I think you will be delighted with what they wrote especially the sheet about "I am a PLANET PROTECTOR" :)

We also discussed the importance of why we need to STOP PLASTIC POLLUTION IN OUR OCEANS FOR GOOD!  Please watch this 4:30 minute video to learn more.

Our oceans are being filled and killed by throwaway plastics. But together, we can create a movement to reduce throwaway plastic at the source and save our oceans.

Oceana and its allies are already winning plastic-free victories -- victories that aren't possible without your help. Are you ready to be part of our movement to #BreakFreeFromPlastic?

teamseas.org

Team Trees:

Thank you to Finley for sharing the Team Seas & Team Trees websites which give us hope that people are taking action to help our oceans and forests.

If you click the links, it will indicate the many pounds of garage that are taken away and the amount of trees that are being planted right now.

In class, we enjoyed refreshing the pages every now and then to see that the numbers were soaring in the millions!!!

teamtrees.org

If you wish, you may JOIN THE MOVEMENT!

Coding:

Coding, sometimes called computer programming, is how we communicate with computers. Code tells a computer what actions to take, and writing code is like creating a set of instructions. 

By learning to write code, you can tell computers what to do or how to behave in a much faster way. You can use this skill to make websites and apps, process data, and do lots of other cool things.

This week, I had students work in pairs to complete various Puzzles entitled "CRACK THE CODE."  These served to be challenging and really got our minds thinking analytically using the process of elimination.  

Check out the example below and try it out with your child (we did this one in class so he or she will be familiar with this one). 

So, why learn how to code? We all have hopes, dreams, and plans for the future.  Whether you’re looking for a new opportunity, want to optimize your skills in programming, or are simply searching for a new hobby, coding can help you get closer to your goals.  And remember, anyone can learn how to code!

Math:

Over the next while, your child will design surveys to collect data; sort and organize data using Venn diagrams and tally charts; represent data by creating pictographs and bar graphs with scales of 2, 5, 10; and describe and interpret bar graphs, pictographs, and circle graphs.

A math note was sent home earlier this week for you to review the specific learning goals and expectations for this unit. I hope you get an opportunity to read and review this :)

Your child will explore what makes a survey question a good one, how best to organize and display a given data set, and what sorts of things a graph can tell us.

Throughout this time, you and your child can practise some activities such as the following:

• your child can count some items that come in large quantities (e.g., straws) and create a pictograph with a scale of 10 to represent the items

• your child can design a question, conduct a survey, tally the results, and display the data in a bar graph. For example, they could ask, "How many of my books do I want to read, or read again: soon, someday, or never?" and then interpret the results

• your child could look in the media for examples of bar graphs with scales and tell you 3 or 4 things the graph shows. The scale might be larger than 10; they could discuss why the scale used is appropriate

Mindfulness:

Please tune into this captivating short Conservation International film and join forces to give nature a voice!!

Yes my friends, it is up to us to PROTECT, RESTORE, and provide FUNDING to help Mother Earth who is our greatest provider. The time is now to LISTEN, ACT, UNITE for climate change!!

Growth Mindset:

"Live your DREAM EVERY DAY!" - Kinley

Meegwich,

Ms. Gill